Air conditioning machine



A. E. ROURKE AIR CONDITIONING MACHINE Filed Dec. 24, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ALFREDEROURKE/ ATTORNEY.

Dec. 18 19340 2 A. E, RQURKE I AIR CONDITIONING MACHINE Fil ed Dec. 24,1952 2 Shees-$heet 2 FIGA.

BUD UDDUEUDEIDDUUUU" JDDDDEIUEIDEIUDUV "QEIDUUDEIUUEIDV UDUUEIEIIIUINVENTOR. ALFRED. E .ROURKE AT TORN EY.

Patented Dec. 18, 1934 PATENT OFFICE 1,984,658 AIR CONDITIONING MACHINEAlfred E. Rourke, San

of one-half to Walter cisco, Calif.

Francisco, Calif., assignor G. Abbott, San Fran- Application December24, 1932, Serial No. 648,8lll

6 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in air conditioning machines.

Among the objects of the invention are to provide a compact,self-contained machine, adapted to raise or lower the temperature ofatmospheric air circulating through the machine.

Another object is to control the. temperature and/or humidity of theair.

Another object is to wash dust and other suspended solids from the air.

Another object is to provide means for medicating or perfuming thehumidified air.

A further object is to construct and arrange the parts of the machine sothat it may be made portable in smaller units or in larger unitscombined with the air ducts of the conventional heating or ventilatinginstallations.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the description progresses.

In this specification and. the accompanying drawings, the invention isdisclosed in its preferred form. It is to be understood, however, thatit is not limited to this particular structure because it may beembodied in other forms within the purview of the claims following thedescription.

In the two sheets of drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of an air conditioner constructed in accordancewith this invention; the enclosing casing being shown in verticalsection on the line 1-1, Fig. 2, with certain of the internal mechanismsshown in full lines better to disclose their form and inter-relations.

Fig. 2 is a front view of tion ofthe protective grille work and thelouvre omitted to disclose the heating, element.

Fig. 3 is a front view detail of the humidifying element.

Fig. 4 is a top view detail in horizontal section on the line IV-IV,Fig. 1, of the condensing baiiie unit.

In detail, the construction illustrated in the drawings, referring toFig: 1, comprises the main frame composed of the transverse channelbolsters 1-1 supported upon the ball casters 22. The longitudinal sills3 -3 are fixed to the bolsters to form a rectangular mobile frame. Theupright channel 4 is fixed to the cross brace 5 extending crosswisebetween the sills 3 and carries the upper cross bar 6 at its top. Theside plates R7 and 8 are fixed to this crossbar and to the side sills,respectively to form the sides of the enclosing casing and brace theupright 4. The

. enclosing casing may be composed of a Single 55 sheet as in Fig. 2 ifpreferred.

thesame with a poi The front end of the casing is covered by theperforated plate or grille 9. This grille is flanged at the top andsides 9" to be detachably attached to the top plate 10 and the sides'7-8 and. to the front bolster 1. The top is also secured to the crossbar 6 and to the sides to form a rigid enclosing casing.

The cylindrical tunnel 11 has its front end supported in the flange 12on the grille. Its rear end is supported on the legs 13, rising from thesills 3. The top of the tunnel is braced by the bracket 14 fixed to theupright 4 all of which holds the tunnel rigidly fixed within theenclosing casing and open at both ends.

The motor 15, mounted upon the upright 4, has the fan 16 thereon andforms the blower unit within the entrance end of the tunnel 11, throughwhich it generates a forced draft of air drawn from within the area ofthe surrounding casing and particularly through the front grillerearwardly.

The humidifying unit A, the condensing baflle unit B, the refrigeratingunit C and the heating unit D are mounted in the exhaust tunnel be:tween the fan 16 and the grille 9. 25

The humidifying unit A consists of the return bent tube 1'7, see Fig. 3,supported by the upper and lower brackets 18-19 engaging the ring 20slidable within the cylindrical tunnel 11. The tube sections betweenbends are perforated on their lower sides to form water jets at 21 inthe path of the air draft from the fan 16.

Water is forced through the .tube 17 by the pump 22 mounted upon theupright 4 and driven by the motor 15 through the pulleys 23, 24 and thebelt 25. The water is drawn through the intake 26, connected to theheating chamber 27, formed beneath the auxiliary tank 28. This tank issurmounted by the removable reservoir 29 which also closes the rear endof the enclosing casing. The check valve 30 is placed in the bottom ofthe reservoir and has the protruding stem 31 engageable with the end ofthe lever 32, pivoted at 33, and actuated by the float 34. When thewater rises to the desired level, the lift of the float lowers the endof the lever 32 out of contact with the valve stem and permits the valve30 to seat and stop the flow from the reservoirin the conventionalmanner of float operated valves. To conceal the auxiliary tank 28, theornamental plate 36 may be attached to the adjacent bolster 1.

The heating chamber 27 has the conventional immersion electric heater3''! inserted therein to heat the contents of the chamber. The sump plug38 is provided for the removal of any sediment that may accumulatetherein.

The baflle unit B comprisesthe ring 40 slideable within the tunnelsimilarly to the ring 20. A series of curved baiile plates 41 arevertically fixed in the ring 40 with their rear edges presented to thefan 16. The planes of these baffles are preferably bent in reversecurves as shown in Fig. 4 to form tortuous passages between for theforced draft. It is the function of these bafiles to arrest the excessof water driven off the humidifier 17 so that a nebulized mist issuesfrom the rear of the baflle unit. This mist is evenly distributed andcarried in suspension by the air current to add the required humiditytothe air passing through the tunnel 11.

The degree of humidity can be automatically controlled by a conventionalhydrostat 42 interposed in the air current and connected by electricremote control with a magnetic valve 43 adapted to bleed the excesswater supply from the tube 17 back to the chamber 27, see Fig. 1'. Thishydrostat and valve control are conventional in structure and operation'so that this diagrammatic illustration is deemed suificient for thepresent purpose.

The refrigerating unit C comprises the return coil cooling element 44mounted in the ring 45 telescoping within the tunnel 11. This coil isconnected with the motor compressor unit 46, which has radiating coils(not shown) cooled by outside atmospheric air or by other means obviousto those skilled in the art. This unit is conventional in structure andmode of operation, and many forms of such assemblies are available forthe purpose.

The motor unit 46 has the lugs 46 which are bolted to the sills 3 sothat the unit C and its -assembled parts may be easily installed orremoved without affecting the remaining structure. The same is true ofthe heating unit D mounted within the ring The drip or leakageincidental to the units A, B, C accumulates in the trough 48 in thebottom of the tunnel 11 and drains back to the auxiliary tank 28 throughthe drain pipe 49.

The heating unit D preferably consists of a plurality of sections ofresistance coils 505l arranged in an electric circuit through theswitches 52-53 in such a manner that they may be operated singly or inunison in the usual manner.

Obviously the cooling and heating units C and D will be operatedindependently of each other as selected by the operator for the desiredresult.

The deflecting louver mounted on the grille in front of the exhausttunnel is intended to deflect the outgoing air up or down as desired.The heated air should be deflected downward and the chilled air upwardto create turbulence and prevent Stratification. The louver consists ofthe blades 54-54, pivoted in the ring flange 55, formed on the grillefront. The edges of the blades are pivoted to the vertical bar 56 tocause them to act in unison. This barfrictionally engages the flange 55and has the exposed handle 56 projecting through the flange 55. Thefrictional engagement of the bar and flange holds the blades in adjustedposition.

The electric wiring is shown in schematic diagram in elementary form toavoid confusion of the drawing in Fig. 1, it being understood that inpractice the various manual switches will be grouped upon a controlboard in the conventional manner.

The cooling and heating elements C and D being alternatives and eachfunctioning to change the temperature of the air, either will be broadlydesignated as .air tempering means.

The bafiie unit B may be composed of Wire screens or other means, butthe curved plates shown are preferred because they present the desiredcondensing surface with minimal resistance to the passage of the forceddraft from the blower.

Except for the danger of flooding, the humidifying element A could befed from the reservoir by gravity, but force feeding by the pump 22 ispreferred because it can be controlled in unison with the blower. Ifhumidification is not desired, the valve 43 can be opened and thedischarge from the pump bypassed back to the chamber 27.

The operation of the machine is substantially as follows: The draft ofair forced through the tunnel by the blower unit '15-16 draws airthrough the upper and lower portions of the grille 9 into the portionsof the casing surrounding the tunnel 11.

The draft from the blower picks off the water issuing from the jets inthe humidifying tube 17. This spray striking the surfaces of the bafileplates 41 is accumulated by capillary attraction or condenses thereonand drains down into the trough 48 and back to the heating chamber 27.The-smaller particles of water remain suspended in the air current,forming a nebulous vapor.

The humidified air may be chilled by the element C or heated by theelement D as desired. The tempered air issuing from the tunnel isdeflected upward by the louvers 54 into the hotter air in the upperportion of the room if the air current is cold, or downward into thecolder air'near the floor if the air current is heated. The turbulencethus created prevents thermal stratification of the air confined 'in theroom and causes the whole body of confined air to circulate through themachine. The incoming air is modified by the heat or cold radiating fromthe Walls of the tunnel before passing through the blower fan 16. Thiskeeps the motor 15 cool and conserves the energy of the units CD.

Preheating the water in the chamber 27 counteracts the lowering of thetemperature of the. air' current by evaporation incidental to thefunctioning of the humidifier A.

Where it is desirable to reduce the dimensions of the machine, the airintake could be directly behind the blower instead of through the grille9 and the casing as shown.

Soluble medicants or perfume placed in the reservoir 29 or the tank 28will impregnate the air draft and be diffused by the air circulatingthrough the machine. 1

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed and desired tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. An air conditioner including an enclosing casing open at its frontand closed at the rear; a tunnel mounted in said casing and spaced fromthe rear thereof; a blower mounted in the rear end of saidtunnel; ahumidifier; a baffle; and air tempering means in said tunnel in front ofsaid blower.

2. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; an enclosingcasing on said frame;

a tank and reservoir on said frame closing one end of said casing; atunnel in said casing open at both ends; a blower within-said tunnel; ahumidifier in front of said blower; a pump interposed between said tankand humidifier; and an air tempering means in said casing in operativerelation to said blower.

3. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; a tank andreservoir on said frame; a float controlled valve between said tank andreservoir; an enclosing casing on said frame; a blower in said casing; ahumidifier connected with said tank, a bafile, and an air temperingmeans in operative relation to said blower, and a pump interposedbetween said tank and humidifier. v

4. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; an enclosingcasing and a tank on said frame; a heater in said tank; a blower in saidcasing; a humidifier, a bafiie and an air tempering means arranged inoperative relation to said blower; a supply means between said tank andhumidifier, and hydrostatic control means between said humidifier andsupply means.

5. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; an enclosingcasing and a tank on said frame; a tunnel within and exhausting fromsaid casing; a blower in operative relation to said tunnel; a humidifierin said tunnel and connected with said tank; supply means for saidhumidifier operated in unison with said blower; and a refrigerating unitin said casing having a cooling element in said tunnel.

6. A portable air conditioner including a mobile frame; an enclosingcasing open at its front end; a tunnel in said casing disposed towardthe open front end thereof; a blower in operative relation to saidtunnel; a humidifier and 'air tempering means in said tunnel; a louverat the discharge end of said tunnel; and means for regulating saidlouver to deflect the discharged air in go the desired direction.

ALFRED E. BOURKE.

